My friend John and I made a version of these shortbread cookies for our teacher who was getting married last week.
Shortbread is endlessly versatile- you can experiment with many flavors- saffron, almond, cornmeal-citrus, cardamom and lavender are some of my favorites.
RECIPE:
2 tbsps cumin seeds
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 pound unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar, lightly packed
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 275°F.
Dry roast the cumin in a heavy frying pan until fragrant, then set aside.
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients to form uniform dough. Divide into several balls and refrigerate for 20 minutes or so. Working one batch at a time, roll the dough out on a cutting board covered with parchment paper. Roll to about an 1/8th of an inch thickness. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters. The dough can also be rolled out in logs, then sliced into disks.
Place the cookies on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, and bake until lightly golden, about l5 minutes. Allow cookies to cool slightly, then transfer to racks to cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
